Rupert Stadler and Martin Winterkorn
The two former top managers of the Volkswagen Group are said to be liable – a step that is long overdue.
(Photo: dpa)
The time has finally come: after a long, tough examination, the Volkswagen Group has announced that it will take recourse to several ex-board members for the diesel debacle. In the forefront are ex-company boss Martin Winterkorn and the former Audi boss Rupert Stadler. The automaker also wants to put some other former top managers on their wallets.
It is not surprising that the Volkswagen board of directors made this decision. The civil law step is logical, if not mandatory. The breaches of duty that the former board members have to blame are too obvious. Prosecutors are convinced that the managers were part of the fraud system or at least failed to investigate it. Winterkorn will soon be on trial in Braunschweig, the criminal case against Stadler in Munich is already underway.
Of course, the defendants are presumed innocent and the outcome of the proceedings is open. But in civil law the barriers to liability are much lower than in criminal proceedings. That means: Regardless of whether Winterkorn, Stadler and the others are convicted, they are in all probability liable for violating their duties as board members.
This is the conclusion reached by the law firm Gleiss Lutz, which researched, audited and conducted interviews on behalf of the supervisory board for years. She has summarized her result in an appraisal of around 2000 pages. Tactical reasons may also have played a role in the fact that the decision has only now been made – more than five years after the diesel scandal became known on September 18, 2015. After all, the group was confronted with countless complaints from consumers and shareholders, which it could keep for as long as possible did not want to provide any additional arguments.
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Fatal misjudgment
Winterkorn was only able to stay in office for a few days after the US environmental agency was unveiled in autumn 2015. On September 23, he resigned – with a declaration of honor from the board of directors in his pocket. The Presidium thanked Winterkorn for “his outstanding performance over the past decades and for his willingness to take on responsibility in the current critical situation”. This attitude is “exemplary”. You can see that “Professor Dr. Winterkorn had no knowledge of the manipulation of exhaust gas values ”.
These words have proven to be a fatal misjudgment. With its decision to make use of the management board, the supervisory board corrected itself. It was an overdue and necessary step – also in order not to make yourself vulnerable.
More: Why the VW supervisory board is demanding compensation from its ex-board members.